Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/702

 OODET

624

GODFREY

their necessities often involved her in diificulties with h(r father's steward and even with her pious father himself. By her eighteenth year the fame of her beauty and admirable qualities had spread far and wide through Artois and even into Flanders, and many suitors presented themselves; but, the decision being left with Godelina, she persisted in the resolution she had made of renouncing the world for the cloister. One of the yovmg noblemen, Bertolf of Ghistelles, determined to leave nothing undone, invoked the in- fluence of her father's suzerain, Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, whose representations proved successful. After the wedding Bertolf and his bride set out for Ghistelles, where, however, Godelina found a bitter and unrelenting enemy in Bertolf's mother, who induced her son to forsake his wife on the very day of their arrival, and immured Godelina in a narrow cell, with barely enough nourishment to support life. Even this, however, the saint contrived to share with the poor. Under the influence of his mother, Bertolf spread abroad foul calumnies about his bride. After some time Godelina managed to escape to the home of her father, who roused the Bishop of Tournai and Soissons and the Count of Flanders to threaten Bertolf with the terrors of Church and State. Seeminglv re- pentant, he promised to restore his wife to her rightful position, but her return to Ghistelles was the signal for a renewal of persecution in an aggravated form. After aliout a year Bertolf, again feigning sorrow, easily effected a reconciliation, but only to avoid the suspi- cion of the crime he was meditating. During his alisence two of his servants at his direction strangled Godelina causing it to appear that she had died a nat- ural death. Bertolf soon contracted a second mar- riage, but the daughter born to him was blind from liirth. Her miraculous recovery of siglit through the intercession of St. Godelina so affected her father that, now truly converted, he journeyed to Rome to obtain absolution for his crime, undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and finally entered the monastery of St- Winoe at Bergues, where he expiated his sins by a life of severe penance. At his desire his daughter erected at Ghistelles a Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Godelina, which she entered as a religious. Devotion to St. Godelina dates from 10S4, when her body was exhumed by the Bishop of Tournai and Noyon, and her relics, recognized at various times by ecclesiastical authority, are to be found in various cities of Belgium.

Destombes, Vies des saints des dioceses de Cambrai el d' Arras; De Baecker, La legende de S. Godelieve in Annates de la soci^te d'emidation de Bruges (1S49); Acta SS.. 6 July.

F. M. RUDGE.

Godet des Marais, Paul, Bishop of Chartres, France; b. at Talcy, near Blois, 1647; d. at Chartres, 1709. He studied at Saint-Sulpice, took the doctorate of theology at the Sorbonne, was ordained, and be^ came (1677) superior of the "Seminaire des Trente- Trois". Louis XIV nominated him (1690) to the See of Chartres, but owing to difficulties between France and the Holy See the papal confirmation came only on 21 Jan., 1692. As spiritual director of Mme de Maintenon, for whom he wrote " Lettres de direc- tion", Ciodet used his influence to have Mme Guyon removed from Saint-Cyr. A stanch opponent of Quietism, he signed with Noailles and Bossuet the famous "Declaratio" condemning Fdnelon's "Max- imes des saints" (1697), and wrote (1698) several ordnnnnnces, or pastoral letters, against the pseudo- myst ical theories of Molinos, Fenelon, and Mme Guyon. He also did much to destroy Jan.senism in France, refuted the cas de conscience. (170.3), commandetl obedience to the papal constitution of Clement XI (no.'j), and .severely censured .luenin's "Institutions th6oIogiues" (17S). His zeal and charity, as well as his orthodoxy, were set forlli in an epitaph written by his successor, Monstiers de Mcrinville.

FisQUET in La France P&ntifi&ilc (Paris, s. d.), s. v. Chartres: PEKENNiis in Feller, Bioa- Univ., s. v. (Paris, 1842); Baubsef, Vie de Fenelon (Paris, 1856),' Saint-Simon. Mcmoircs.

J. F. SOLLIER

Godfather. See Sponsor.

Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine and first King of Jerusalem, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Beard- ed, Duke of Lower Lorraine; b. probably at Boulogne- sur-Mer, 1060; d. at Jerusalem, 18 July, 1100 (accord- ing to a thirteenth-century chronicler, he was born at Baisy, in Brabant; see Haignere, Mdmoires lus a la Sorbonne, Paris, 1868, 213). The history of his early years has been distorted by legend, according to which he slew with his own hand the anti-king Rodolphe at the battle of Moelsen (1080), and was the first to enter Rome after it had been besieged by Henry IV (10S4). What appears certain is that he was chosen to succeed his uncle Godfrey the Hunchback, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who was assassinated in 1076. But Henry IV took Lorraine, leaving to Godfrey only the niar- quessate of Antwerp. As a vassal of the German Empire Godfrey took sides with the army of Henry IV in the War of the Investitures and followed the emperor on his expedition to Italy against Gregory VII (1080- 1084). In the interval he was compelled to return in order to defend his possessions which had been at- tacked by the Count of Namur, and about 10S9 Henry IV restored to him the legacy of Godfrey the Hunch- back by creating him Duke of Lower Lorraine. The new duke's authority was extremely weak when op- posed to the feudal power which had developed in the vicinity. At this tiine the whole north of France was aroused by the letter of Urban II, who besought the nobility of Flanders to go on the Crusade. Godfrey was among the first to take the cross, together with his two brothers, Eustache and Baldwin (1096). To procure resources he sold or pledged many of his es- tates. Many nobles at once arrayed themselves luider his banner, and about 15 August, 1096, he departed at the head of 10,000 knights and 30,000 foot soldiers. His army was composed of Walloons and Flemings. "Born at the frontier of the two nations and himself speaking both languages", he served as the link be- tween them, and by his authority appeased the quar- rels provoked by their national self-esteem (Otto of Freisingen, Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script., XX, 250).

The crusaders reached the valley of the Danube and in September, 1096, arrived at Tollenburch (Tulin, west of Vienna), on the frontier of Hungary, where they learned of the disaster which had befallen the followers of Peter the Hermit. Before entering Him- gary Godfrey negotiated with King Coloman for a free passage through his dominions. He him.self met the king, who welcomed him warmly, but took Godfrey's brother Baldwin as a hostage, together with his wife. During the march through Hungary (October, 1096) the strictest discipline prevailed among the crusaders, to whom the inhabitants furnished provisions in abundance. After crossing the Save, the army entered the territory of the Byzantine Empire. At Belgrade Godfrey received a letter from the Emperor Alexius I (Comnenus), promising him assistance if the crusaders would refrain from violence. At Nish and at Sterniz (Sofia), they found abundant provisions and presents from the emperor. After a halt of eight days at Philippopolis (26 Nov.-3 Dec.) the army approached Adrianople (8 December) and marched towards the Hellespont. Here occurred the first conflict between the crusaders and the imperial government. Accord- ing to Albert of .\ix, (Jodfrey, learning that the emperor lield in captivity Ungues, a prince of France, demanded the lattor's freeddin, and on the emperor's refusal pillaged the neighbourhood of Salabria (Selym- bria). As a matter of fact, the French prince was not a prisoner, but Godfrey and his army arrived before Constantinople (23 Dec, 1096) in a hostile